Storytelling to Solve Complex Problems: Empathy Interviews
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Teachers, of course, are skilled empathy practitioners! They also seek to grow in understanding the perspectives of who they serve: students.
Empathy interviews are one way to lift student voice and agency through personal storytelling. They are one-on-one conversations that use open-ended questions to elicit stories about specific experiences that help uncover unacknowledged needs. The “Empathy Interview Protocol,” developed by the Texas Network for School Improvement, allows the interviewer to probe more deeply into stories than a more traditional interview. Check out two sample overarching questions about a student’s experience:
Prompt: Tell about a place (anywhere in your life) that you can show up as your true or authentic self. Suggested probes: What is it like? Why do you think...? How does it feel? How would you describe…?
Prompt: Tell about a time you felt excited to come to school. Suggested probes: What happened? Tell more about why that made you feel... Why do you think….?
Recently, a district conducted empathy interviews with students and families to identify the root causes of chronic absenteeism, which revealed a trend that it is important for students to feel welcome. As a result, schools took action to improve students’ experiences at the front office and the entrances of learning spaces.
We invite you to read “Empathy Interviews” to learn more; the article also includes a nifty planning tool for conducting empathy interviews. (Nelsestuen, K. and Smith, J. 2020).
Sources:
Nelsestuen, K., & Smith, J. (2020, October 1). Educate Texas - Empathy Interview Tools Developed by Community Design Partners. Texas Network for School Improvement. Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://www.edtx.org/txnsi-resources/library/empathy-interview-tools-developed-by-community-des
Nelsestuen, K., & Smith, J. (2020, October 1). Empathy Interviews. Learning Forward. Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://learningforward.org/journal/supporting-each-other/empathy-interviews/